Making The Green Bench was an incredible experience. As with other films on mental health, we found that a large percentage of cast and crew knew someone or had a family member with a mental illness. I had not seen much on the effect on family members and our director, Jim Likens, had the idea of moving the time frame of my flash fiction up so that the audience discovers along with the mother.

Sadly, we lost a cast member, Chuck Cason, in June 2016. Chuck got to see the finished film, but we sure wish he was still here to enjoy its success and premieres. Rest in peace, Chuck.

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Here is a link to the original flash fiction piece I wrote, published by The Citron Review:

The Source Material

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We were fortunate to have family members of those with schizophrenia agree to be interviewed to help us with crowdfunding and raising awareness:

Why We Care

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Craig Archibald, my acting coach, was instrumental in the adaptation and making of the movie. He was the one who originally urged me to make something of my own and was a great sounding board throughout. I wrote most of the parts with specific actors in mind.
Through two crowdfunding campaigns, we raised the money. That in addition to social media put us in touch with people all over the world (shout out to Gale Harold's fans who are amazing) We received support and more importantly stories from parents from all over, grateful for the project. Shooting it was a dream experience. Everyone came together like family and all are so talented. It was a pleasure to work on it and even more to see all of their talents on the big screen with a great sound system. All in all, it has been a humbling experience and an honor to have a tiny part in helping reduce the stigma of mental health.

The Short Film

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The script was accepted at Shore Scripts Screenwriting Competition, 2016 Artist Alliance, and Nashville Film Festival. The film received laurels from The Kiwi Int'l Festival, Move Me Belgium, Venice Film Week, Woods Hole Film Festival, IndieFEST, GSF Awards, Artcroft, Focus International and more. We are finishing up the festival circuit and the film is now available to mental health organizations and the general public